When a Tachibana goes to war
by AspiringStrategist
Summary: Ginchiyo is a proud warrior, despite being female, and takes her clan's pride seriously, however, when Nobunaga asks for their assistance in Chugoku, should she be insulted about having take down a weak clan, or honored...? ((Slight hint at Muneshige/Ginchiyo, nothing major, just fluffiness ))


**_AUTHOR'S NOTE- _**_So hi all! I knew my friends used this site a lot and they got really good reviews on their fanfics and shit and I had originally written this for an English Controlled assessment (which got 23/24 marks, which banked me an A*!) and since my friends, who have never even touched Samurai Warriors before, thought it was good, I'd thought I'd upload this and see what strangers thought of it. Also, we were told to write as though it was from our perspective, so it's from Ginchiyo's point of view before you got confused! You know, we were told to write "I", "My" and so on..._

_Also, this assessment was Writing For The Spoken Language, which is why it's mostly dialogue, but we were told to describe the settings through speech, so... apparently it worked out for me! Anyhow, enough with my shit, enjoy!_

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My eyes quickly scanned the letter, the fury on my face made it look as though Muneshige was bothering me again, although he was currently sat in the corner, with a smirk on his face. Eventually I tossed the letter behind me, only for it to be caught by Muneshige, and began pacing up and down the room.

"Unbelievable!" I spat, waving arm, "Nobunaga expects us, the Tachibana, to deal with such a puny clan? Our pride shall NOT stand for this!" I shouted, flinging my arms outwards, knocking over a rather pricy vase, "Why has he ordered us to fight against the Mōri? They're so weak; we may as well betray the Oda and go back to fighting the Shimazu…"

"My lady Ginchiyo, please calm down," My husband soothed, "I'm sure Nobunaga has his reasons for ordering us to attack the Mōri, it is likely his strategists saw an attack from both sides as a…" He paused for a moment, observing my reaction, "reasonable strategy."

At that, I swung around to glare at him, knocking over yet another vase, "If you feel attacking the Mōri is such a good idea, then do it yourself!" Two maidens rushed in to sweep up the broken vases, I turned away from Muneshige, "as soon as he died, the Mōri have not been what they used to be, the thrill in trying to finish what my father started has vanished-"

"That is why you must go Ginchiyo!" Muneshige interrupted, "you, the daughter of Dōsetsu Tachibana could defeat the beloved Grandson of his nemesis," his arm gestured out towards Chūgoku, where we were ordered to march, "thus completing what your father started, what could bring more pride to the Tachibana name than that?"

I hung my head in shame, defeated by Muneshige's mere words, "fine, but!" I swung around, pointing my finger at him, "you are to go with me, and assure all our strategies are pulled off to perfection, I do not want to suffer any embarrassment, you hear me?" I hissed.

"Of course My Lady," He nodded, still with that smile on his face, "I shall have the strategies approved myself, Terumoto shall not stand a chance! The Mōri shall be destined to fall at what they used to rely on most: strategy, I will make sure of it." He bowed and took his leave of the room, before I could get any angrier.

I too took my leave, it was only midday, yet I needed to rest, we were ordered to attack the Mōri under the cover of night, not that well-rested Tachibanas would make any difference, the Mōri were incompetent fools…

I awoke later to feel someone shaking me, whispering my name. "_Ginchiyo,"_ I flung my arm outwards, making contact with their face, with a shriek of pain for a response. I swung myself out of bed and walked out of the room, leaving Muneshige leaning against the bed cradling his face.

"Fool," I smirked.

"Well the battlefield looks…" Muneshige paused, and looked around himself, "pleasant. Dark, foggy, thick forests, the Mōri sure do have a unique taste in battlefield, I must say!" He joked, with a more lively tone, "Although, I must admit, this is too close to Aki Province for my liking…"

"It's in case those cowards want to retreat," I scoffed in disapproval, "although, with our plan, they have no hope of retreat! Muneshige! Tell me, what's the battlefield like as of now," I quickly added more before he could make a witty comment, "and please do not give me a weather report!"

"Of course," he nodded, "Terumoto Mōri is located in the North-Eastern Garrison, and we are in the North-Western Garrison. We will make it appear we are marching our troops directly to their garrison, although, I'll be leading an ambush unit in the forest to the south in order to execute the encirclement of their camp," he paused for breath, "I'll give you a warning now, it appears Terumoto's uncles: Takakage Kobayakawa and Motoharu Kikkawa, are defending the main path to their nephew, they shall not fall so easily."

"Perfect!" I cried, "it is unlikely those two are anything like their father, so they will fall. We'll show those over-eager fools the strength of the Tachibana clan! Muneshige, the battle horn has sounded, make your way to the central garrison, and do not-" I held up my finger to him, "- fail me!"

"Of course not My Lady," He smiled, still managing to look into my eyes, "all men with me, forwards!"

Muneshige and his men slowly disappeared into the fog, leaving me and the soldiers behind, watching. "_Just stay safe," _I whispered, so that no one could hear me.

Fifteen minutes into the battle and already, Muneshige could sense something was wrong, "This is odd, you'd expect Takakage and Motoharu not to fight with such conviction and purpose with their nephew leading," his eyes scanned the stationary Mōri soldiers, "in fact, their vibe of courage feels just the way it did when their father- Motonari Mōri- was leading them…" He slipped off back to the central garrison, "if their father was here now, he'd of sensed our sneak attack and would be leading one of his own… Men!" He called to the loitering soldiers, "sweep the woods for signs of enemy activity!" They nodded and departed.

After a further half an hour, the scouts had still not returned. "There is definitely something in the forest… Men! We're marching into the forest!" He then lowered his voice, "if he is alive, and leading a sneak attack to our garrison, then… Ginchiyo is in danger! I must not looser her…" He turned to a single soldier, "you! File a report to Ginchiyo, tell her of the Mōri's sneak attack!" The soldier nodded and left, as the rest of them, including Muneshige, marched into the forest's depths.

"What!? A sneak attack? By the Mōri? Muneshige's kidding about again, right?" My voice gasped in disbelief, "this can't be possible, Terumoto isn't clever enough to plan such a thing, he's only seventeen…" she turned back to the messenger, who was kneeling on the ground, "and he suspects that my father's nemesis is still alive… and behind all this…" The soldier nodded and left to join a group of other men, Ginchiyo turned her back to them, "_Muneshige, please stay safe, you can't lose…"_

"No sign of any life so far," He sighed, looking around with his sword drawn, "and our troops in the southern garrison have gone silent, there's definitely something going on…" He continued to tread carefully through the forest, with his men behind him.

"My lord!" One muttered, "there was movement, right there!" He pointed to the trees, and sure enough, they could just about hear movement.

Muneshige stepped forwards, his blade held in front of him: "soldiers of Mōri!" he cried, "I advise you step forwards, or I myself shall step forth and personally cut you down!" His eyes darted from tree to tree, waiting for a response. His eyes widened in horror, despite the fact, he was after all, expecting this to happen.

"My, my, your wife sure is whipping up a storm although, I'm sure without you, she'll loose the will to keep that storm going," the man emerged from the trees, taking slow paces forwards, "we had hoped to keep a low profile, I had misjudged the Tachibana in one way: I was certain none of you would sense our sneak attack, although, it's not very sneaky anymore, is it?"

Muneshige chuckled, not only had he been given praise from a well-respected general, but he'd also met his equal in the wits department, "so it's him… and he doesn't look a day over thirty… as always. Ginchiyo, please find strength to bring him down, even if I fall," he readied his blade, glaring at his opponent, "Motonari! I swear, by my blade, you will fall!"

Back at the camp, my frustration was now evident; I paced up and down, muttering to myself, "what merit would the Mōri gain by faking the death of their Lord? It makes no sense; surely they couldn't have seen this battle coming years before it happened? And if my father's nemesis really is still alive," I paused with realization, "then that means I can take him down myself- for my father!"

Muneshige's blade fell to the ground with a 'clang'. He stood there, defenceless, with his opponent's weapon pointed at him, "Go on. Do it. Kill me. Ginchiyo will not care, she-" At that, he collapsed to the ground, still breathing, but unconscious.

"Fear not. I have more plans for you, and your wife, but it requires you both alive…" He muttered, for he was just getting started on the battlefield…

"Muneshige…" I gasped, my eyes suddenly widening, staring up at the night sky, "Muneshige, you promised, you promised you'd make it back okay, I- I can't face him without you…" This would be a tricky battle…


End file.
